Attempted Burglary Suspected on Manee Place

Somebody forcibly pushed a back door open to a house situated in dense woods on Manee Place, off Holmdel Road, on May 9. But they apparently left when they discovered there was an elderly woman inside the house, police say.

On that Wednesday morning around 4 p.m., the woman's caretaker arrived to find the back door ajar and the doorjamb damaged. She contacted police. Investigators believe the locked door was shouldered open, not pried. Nothing was reported stolen.

A neighbor walking a dog that day on the quiet street that day said he noticed a suspicious black compact four door with a rear spoiler. The car pulled in and out of a driveway too fast for the neighbor to catch sight of the license plate.

The attentive neighbor did note a second vehicle on the street that day, and reported the license plate to police. But after tracking down the Holmdel motorist, police determined he had only pulled over to talk on his cellphone.

The case is under investigation.